It’s finally here, as the Kentucky Basketball team will make their 2026-27 season debut tonight when they host the Manhattan Jaspers at Rupp Arena. Game time is set for 7:00 PM ET on SEC Network+, so this is a stream-only game.
Year 3 of the Mark Pope era tips off with what should be one of the easier games on the schedule for Kentucky, as the Jaspers enter this one ranked 316th in the KenPom preseason rankings. Even so, the first-game jitters can make for some uneasy moments in the beginning, though
those hopefully won’t happen thanks to Kentucky playing a competitive exhibition slate, defeating the likes of Little Rock, Texas Tech, and UCF.
This will be the first of two games this week, as the Cats will be back in action Friday night before taking on the Kansas Jayhawks in next week’s Champions Classic.
Time to get this party started.
Pregame Reading
- Kentucky Basketball vs. Manhattan preview, viewing info, odds, and predictions for stream-only game
- Kentucky Wildcat News: Manhattan Gameday and First CFP Rankings
- Kentucky fans have quite the predicament on Tuesday night
- Join us for the 2026-27 Kentucky Basketball season on the SB Nation app
- Kentucky Basketball’s national championship odds and Milan Momcilovic’s Wooden Award odds entering 2026-27 season
- Kentucky WBB flashes freshman brilliance and vet dominance in opening win vs. Morehead State
- 2026-27 Kentucky Basketball schedule released: Times and TV channels confirmed
- Cherif Millogo still favoring Kentucky after BYU and USC visits; Paul Osaruyi trending elsewhere
- Kentucky Basketball: Game-by-game predictions for the Wildcats’ 2026-27 season
- Kam Williams is nearing a return from injury but unlikely to play in Kentucky vs. Manhattan
Let’s Go CATS!
